Preliminary hearing set for Copper Top shooting suspect Nathan Wilkins

Monday

Jul 23, 2012 at 5:26 PM

A preliminary hearing has been set for the man accused in a shooting spree that left 18 people injured last week. Nathan Wilkins' preliminary hearing was set for Sept. 7 at 9 a.m. He is being represented by the Public Defender's Office.

Staff Report

A preliminary hearing has been set for the man accused in a shooting spree that left 18 people injured last week. Nathan Wilkins' preliminary hearing was set for Sept. 7 at 9 a.m. He is being represented by the Public Defender's Office. Wilkins, 44, is accused of opening fire at the Copper Top in Temerson Square at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, injuring 17 people, five of them seriously, who were in the bar. He is suspected of shooting another man at a home in Northport about an hour earlier and then setting fire to his former workplace in Brookwood after leaving Temerson Square.At least two of the 18 victims remained in DCH Regional Medical Center on Monday. Mario Fritz Winkler was in serious condition and Renardo Jackson was in good condition, said DCH spokesman Brad Fisher. No information about Bruce Bankhead, who was injured at the home in Northport, was available.Chilling black-and-white surveillance video released by the Tuscaloosa police after the shooting shows a man walking along the east side of the Copper Top holding an assault rifle at his side. The video was widely circulated online and generated many calls to CrimeStoppers, some of which identified the shooter as Wilkins.Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson said that Wilkins stood on the patio in front of the bar for a few minutes before firing at least 11 shots that injured 17 people. Video shows him turning and walking away in the same direction he approached.Anderson said that at least one person in the bar was the intended target. “The individuals were very blessed that they were not killed,” he said. Wilkins has been charged with 18 counts of attempted murder and will face arson charges in the spree that also included fires set to property and equipment owned by his former employer.